Digital projectors and digital displays present color images by generating light in distinct portions or subbands of the visible-light spectrum. Typically three subbands are used that include a primary color such as, for example, the colors red, green and blue.
The range of colors that can be presented by a device can be represented by a portion of a multidimensional color space and this portion of color space is often referred to as the color gamut of the device. The human visual system is able to discern a broader range of colors than can be presented by projectors and displays and various techniques have been tried to expand the color gamut of projectors and displays. Although some techniques have succeeded in expanding the gamut of a projector or display, no technique has been completely satisfactory because it introduces one or more disadvantages. The disadvantages include significant increases in device manufacturing costs, significant reductions in device efficiency, less than optimum renditions of certain colors, and annoying artifacts such as flicker or metameric failure.